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Monday 21 December 2015
Friday 24 April 2015
The Verdict
Once again we’ve had a fantastic time and have a lot of
memories. The biggest benefit of course, and the main reason for going away,
was the weather which, apart from the odd occasion, was warm (hot?) and dry.
We’ve renewed a lot a friendships, as well as making many
new ones, not least that with Colin and Tina Rice, our travelling companions
for over half of the holiday, which we think made the break for us. Bertie
performed impeccably, although he is beginning to need some attention. But
after 6891 miles, and with the odometer now over 60,000, it’s not unexpected.
But there’s nothing serious.
We haven’t kept a record this year of our expenses, but our
feeling is that it actually cost us less than before, probably helped by the
extraordinarily good euro exchange rate. We’ve not stinted on our spending,
eating out more often being a little extravagance.
Towards the end, though, we were beginning to be ready to
come home, and if we hadn’t had the various visits already planned perhaps we
would have. The fact that Easter was late this year contributed of course, but
we may look a little carefully next time – and there’ll certainly be a next
time!
Monday 20 April 2015
Well, that’s it – last day and we’re on our way home. After
goodbyes and making arrangements for next time, we headed up the road for lunch
with Mum for a couple of hours. Then the long slog back up the A1, making good
time and we were home just after 7.00pm.
We’ll leave most of the unpacking until tomorrow, then put
Bertie back into storage until we’ve got time to deal properly with the running
repairs, cleaning etc. Being away for almost 4 months (112 nights) means there’s
a bit to do, including a pile of post over 3 feet high!
But at least it’s still sunny!
P.S. Sorry not many photos towards the end. We've covered this ground a number of times before so haven't bothered. Don't forget, you can see all our photies by following the link alongside here >>>.
Thursday/Sunday 16/19 April 2015
Peterborough Motorhome Show
Billed as the season opener, we’ve been here the last few
years but our main reason is to join up
with the Funsters for the first big rally of the year. With over 150 Funster
units expected, the organisers allocated us our own area and provided a marquee
too. Volunteers directed everybody to pitches, satisfying the legal
requirements; we noted that the space they left between us and Colin would have
been filled by two French vans elsewhere!
Although it was only half an hour on the road, with a quick
refuel stop, it was at least another 45mins whilst we drove completely round
the outside of the showground, got our tickets (which we’d had sent to the
gate) then drove again completely round the site to our pitch, which was
actually only 50 yards from the gate! Bureaucracy!
Never mind, old friends greeted, new friends made and we
settled down to the show. We won’t get into much detail; suffice it to say we
spent quite a lot of time (not to mention money!) going round the show over the
few days, trying to fill out a shopping list we’d developed. We also helped out
on the MotorhomeFun stall, explaining what we’re all about and encouraging
people to join up. Oh yes, we got the satellite dish fixed too.
There is featured (paid) entertainment laid on by the organisers,
but Jim Davison is not really our cup of tea and we’re not inclined to pay to
see him. However there are other free shows put on in the evenings and we chose
to go to the last, on Sunday night, featuring a Frankie Vallee tribute group, who were very good then the original Union Gap. We did wonder who the OAPs on stage were but in
fact they were excellent and nicely rounded out the show for us
all.
Once again an enjoyable weekend which nicely brought our
trip to a close.
Tuesday/Wednesday 14/15 April 2015
Up early because we’ve got a 0950 booking on the Chunnel,
taking us back to the UK. Nice and sunny again, little to do so we got away
promptly but then had to hang around for our booked train; obviously no room on
the earlier one we were actually in time for. Never mind.
Usual smooth efficient crossing and emerged to a continuance
of the nice weather, which is a bit unusual for us. We’re travelling up to St
Neots for a couple of days, to meet Colin & Tina then go on to the
Peterborough show, so first call was at Tesco in Ashford. It’s so nice to be
able to fully understand the labels…..
Then onto the mad house that is the British motorway system,
but at least there were no holdups although they haven’t got the Dartford
crossing sorted yet. We’ve booked into the Caravan & Camping Club site at
St Neots so using the coordinates Colin gave us we sallied forth – only to be a
little surprised when TomTom directed us up the M11; would have thought the A1
was better. But we decided something was definitely not right when we started
heading towards Newmarket so a quick stop and check revealed the obvious of
course – input the cords wrong. Got that sorted, then the site wasn’t there
when we got to our “destination” – it was 100 yards away, but unfortunately
there was a wood and a river in the way….. A slight backtrack and “let’s follow
that caravan” got us there finally.
Checked in, got parked up on a nice sunny pitch with an
empty one alongside (for Colin & Tina) and had a late lunch. The rest of
the day was a sort-out, clean-up and service Bertie before relaxing in the hot
sunshine. Yes, in the UK! We’d sent it on ahead of us.
Wednesday saw us up surprisingly early, for no apparent
reason, so we just bumbled about. At lunchtime the site started filling up,
mostly with people doing the same as us (getting in place for the Peterborough
show), and we had to chase a couple off the adjacent pitch before Colin &
Tina turned up early afternoon. After lots of chatting we got tea from the
visiting fish and chip van, then back to the chatting! We don’t need an early
start tomorrow because it’s only half an hour to Peterborough.
Monday 13 April 2015
Monday 13 April 2015
The site quietened down quite a lot yesterday afternoon and
today saw many more leaving/left. Once sorted and cleared up we joined them,
choosing not to wait in the queue of 8/9 vans waiting to use the service point –
there’s plenty more.
Our plan today to simply head north to a suitable jumping
off point ready for the Channel Tunnel tomorrow morning so we joined our old
friend, the D940, for a quiet run up the coast. With the gauge clammering for
attention, we realised that we wouldn't make Auchan in Calais so chose the
first supermarket fuel station we came to to top off.
With now no need for any more shopping etc., we decided to
stop at Wissant, a quiet free aire just 20mins from the Chunnel where we’d
stopped on the way down. We had noticed a lot of motorhomes today, many of them
Belgian, and arriving at Wissant at lunchtime were surprised to find it almost
full. However we found a spot and had lunch before starting a walk into the town,
which we had been told was very nice. However we hadn't reckoned with a cold
wind and did not get very far before retreating to the warmth of Bertie.
So we stayed at “home” for the rest of the day, relaxing and
finishing off logs and blogs ready for our crossing tomorrow.
And so endeth the France part of our trip.
Sunday 12 April 2015
A lovely, if cold, start to the day a bit earlier than usual
as we’d learned yesterday that the narrow gauge steam train that travels round
the Baie de Somme had a 11.00 departure and we fancied a trip to St Valery. So
after our, now traditional, bacon and eggs we walked round in plenty of time.
The usual, very well run, enthusiasts railway was enjoyable and the hour trip
enabled us to view the bay properly, although you could actually see almost as
much from the road of course. But it was fun.
St Valery sur Somme has had quite a history as a port,
including being the last jump-off for William the Conqueror on his way to
Hastings in 1066, although he was only here because his fleet actually went
aground……..! It is now very much an up-market seaside holiday town with posh
shops, hotels and dozens of restaurants. The Sunday morning market was on when
we arrived but was nothing special so after a stroll round we stopped off for
delicious crepes and coffee before ambling around to the old town then back
along the quay to the train stop – you couldn't call it a station.
Another pleasant trip on a now much more full train – a couple
of coach trips had joined – before a stroll back to the van for a cuppa and
relax. After only a few minutes the couple from a British van alongside us came
to call looking for information, having seen our Fun stickers, and the
afternoon was spent chatting with them at quite some length.
Then after a late tea, we wandered over to our Morocco
friends, Ken and Lynda (not forgetting Jess!), for drinks and a catch-up.
Altogether an extremely enjoyable day to round off the French part of our tour.
Up to Calais tomorrow, ready for an early crossing on Tuesday.
Saturday 11 April 2015
A little light rain overnight and a dull grey start when the
framily came calling to say their goodbyes – they were going out for the day
but we had to move on. Our usual pack up and service, with a quick call into
the shop for bread, and we were on our way with the satnav set for Le Touquet, although
it was really only to get us pointing in the right direction; Berny-Riviere is
a bit in the back of beyond!
No tolls on this leg and we were soon travelling nice
straight roads with very light traffic, although the weather deteriorated until
it was raining. Eventually we decided that St Valery-sur-Somme might be a nice
place to stopover so headed for the aire. Nice enough, though busy, we thought
it too far out of town so headed instead for Le Crotoy, a large aire where we've
stayed before. It was very busy and we had just decided to try elsewhere when a
van pulled out, so we grabbed that spot and had lunch whilst waiting for the
rain to stop.
The sun eventually reappeared and whilst getting the ticket, Terry spotted a
familiar van, some more friends from Morocco, but they had gone out. We spent a
quiet afternoon watching dozens of vans driving round trying to find a space,
amazed at how busy it was; perhaps it was because it was the end of the Easter
break? Later Terry had a quick walk over to our friends, just to tell them we
were here and we’d have a proper catch-up tomorrow.
We've planned for 2 nights here before moving on up to
Calais for our train on Tuesday morning.
Thursday/Friday 9/10 April 2015
Safely ensconced at Berny-Riviere we’re in no rush now for a
couple of days, so this is going to be brief. A clear blue sky is of course
lovely to wake up to, but until the sun climbs a bit, it is quite cool and both
mornings we've needed the heating first thing. However thereafter it is very
pleasant, not quite Morocco but still shirtsleeves and shorts warm.
Taking advantage, we turned Thursday into a washing and clean-up
day, but it doesn't take long as the site has large machines and dryers so all
done, aired and packed away before teatime. Terry had another go at the
satellite dish but no joy so it’ll have to wait until we’re back in the UK. The
rest of the time was spent with the framily and relaxing, Adam either off to
one of the kids clubs or playing with new friends (the advantage of a large
family site) and Molly content to potter around under a watchful eye or three.
Not the sort of place we’d normally stay at but ideal for
this occasion. The café, bar and chip shop were all sampled though!
Thursday 9 April 2015
Wednesday 8 April 2015
Not really much to report today as it has just been a
relocation day up to meet the framily at Berny-Riviere. A slightly earlier
start to a cooler but bright sunny day saw us away a bit better than normal to
join the main road round Chartres and to Paris.
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| That's not Blackpool Tower! |
The roads got busier and busier, as expected of course,
approaching Paris and we stopped briefly to refill the gas tanks. Then onto
non-toll autoroutes into the city, getting slower and slower until joining the
Boulevard Peripherique it stopped. It doesn't take much to stop the BP and this
time it was an accident and a rather mangled-looking motorcycle – they do take
chances and always come off worst.
But once clear, it was a reasonably fast ride round Paris
then out towards the airport before swinging off towards Soissons and off the
autoroute. And of course the roads became quieter once again, so we called in
to a Carrefour for a baguette (plus as usual other “essentials”) for a latish
lunch.
Le Croix du Vieux Pont is a holiday park at the tiny village
of Berny-Riviere and caters mainly for British in chalets, mobile homes and
lodges. It is a huge site with plenty of facilities including bars, restaurant,
mini-market, swimming pool, kids clubs, in fact everything the discerning
holidaymaker needs. They also accept touring caravans, motorhomes and tents,
usually in separate areas but there is the odd pitch amongst the chalets and we
were shown a lovely enclosed spot not far away from the facilities we needed so
after negotiating rather a narrow entrance we set up in the sunshine.
The framily were staying in a lodge right at the far end of
the site so a quick couple of phone calls established contact and we met up. We’re
now just going to relax and enjoy their company. The weather forecast is good for at least a few days.
Tuesday 7 April 2015
No rush today so and it’s another bright and sunny day,
albeit a little cool. So after a leisurely breakfast, servicing and a few odd
jobs we thought we’d take a walk into town.
However as we’re now in the latitudes where we should get
satellite reception gave it a go. Parked under the chateau walls we thought it
was being a bit optimistic so retracted the dish. Oh dear, something went wrong
and it wouldn't return to the parked position. Terry then spent an hour messing
but couldn't get it right and eventually the dish stuck, on its back hanging
over the side of the van. Not good. So the only thing is to take it off until
we can find a way of fixing it, but how to get onto the roof? We needed a
ladder and there's never one around when you need it.
So we took that walk but the town had no ladder shops,
however the lady at the T.I. told us about a Bricomarche – like B&Q – on
the edge of town so we went back to the van and drove round with the dish at a
very odd angle. Mission accomplished, returned for lunch then onto the roof.
Fortunately it was only four bolts and two plug-in cables but getting it off we
managed a nasty scratch to the van side. Bugrit!
Being sure we could get a solution from the forum the
internet now wouldn't play, so we just gave it up as a bad job and tried to work
out where we’re going to store this thing. As well as a set of ladders (and the
new shopping trolley we bought last week!) They’ll have to travel on the bed
for now.
Problems, problems; we’ll not let them get to us so after
tea we treated ourselves to hot showers.
Monday 6 April 2015
Monday 6 April 2015
As expected, another very quiet night once the restaurant by
the lakeside closed and we were left with just the converted horsebox for
company. It was, however, quite cold as Terry found out shortly after getting
up to put the heating on and the gas ran out! Never mind, once the sun was up
properly it soon warmed us through and so started another bright sunny day.
An early start as we've decided to have a long day driving
to get us into position for Paris, but then take a day off so our target is
Chateaudun, where we stopped on the way down. Having cleared up and refilled
the water tank we firstly found our way back to the main N10 road through some
delightfully pretty villages, then headed north. The N10, or it’s derivative
D910, was our companion all day.
Around Angouleme and into Poitiers, we spotted an Auchan
hypermarket which , to our surprise it being Easter Monday, was open. Needing
fuel we also took advantage of their cheap diesel but the LPG was cash only and
the “caisse” was closed – not to worry the second bottle should last us at
least a week. As we’re probably going to be “static” for a few days we also
popped into the store and topped up the provisions before returning to Bertie
for lunch.
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| They also have "squareabouts" in France! |
Our protracted stop meant that the afternoon was a long,
long haul and to save time we avoided the centre of Tours by using a toll
motorway. A a cost of only €6 it saved us half an hour, which as we were now
well behind schedule was very useful. And just as well because when we arrived
at the aire at Chateaudun there was only one space left, so we grabbed it!
We’ll stop here for two nights to relax and maybe have a
walk up to the town and chateau tomorrow. Have managed to connect to Fon WiFi here too.
Sunday 5 April 2015
Rain showers during the night but Easter Sunday started dry
and sunny for us. For no apparent reason it took us ages to get going but as
there was a queue for the service point we just emptied the loo and waste tank
manually. We are carrying 20 extra litres of water in plastic bottles so not
too bothered.
With initially a rough target north of Bordeaux, we set the
satnav to get us round San Sebastion and into Spain – the roads around here can
be very confusing and on more than one occasion we found we were turning back
on ourselves but we managed.
We've found that the border area is always busy but today it
was worse than ever and despite us saying we’ll use the toll road, we never
actually do so a slow traverse until we cleared Bayonne. The new motorway has
been completed up to Bordeaux which has swallowed up the old N10 making it
almost impractical now to avoid tolls so we gave in and set the cruise control
for a nice steady run. It turned out not to be too expensive though.
Lunch at a motorway service area whilst we planned our night
stop. There are quite a few aires north of Bordeaux but as it is still a public
holiday in France tomorrow we looked for something a little out of the way and
decided on a nice looking spot at St Christoly de Blaye, just off the Gironde.
TomTom did his bit again and we arrived at a very pleasant woodland lakeside
picnic area that is obviously popular with the locals. Two marked motorhome
bays were empty so after checking round to make sure we were in the right spot
(the coordinates put us a couple of hundred yards away in a restaurant carpark)
we settled down in the warm late afternoon sun.
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| Lac du Moulin Blanc |
Saturday 4 April 2015
Saturday 4 April 2015
A standard start, i.e. not early. However again we’re in no
rush so after saying goodbye to Alan and Karen we cleared up then got on the
road, pausing in the village to photograph the unusual houses and shops in the
main street. Some of the columns are wood and others stone.
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| Ampudia main street |
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| Castle |
Just south of Vittoria we spotted an Eroski supermarket,
with fuel station, and as it was well into lunchtime we thought we’d stop off
and get a baguette, have lunch and refuel. It turned out we had stopped here on
the way south 2 years ago. As is now typical of us, our baguette “cost” us over
€100, after picking up other “essentials” such as a tyre compressor, shopping
trolley, loads of craft materials, fuel injector cleaner, Diet Coke and more
stuff for the freezer!
The fuel price however was incredible – taking into account
the current euro exchange rate it worked out at 77p a litre, nearly as cheap as
Morocco!
So onward and the threatened rain started as we threaded our
way through the mountains, not heavy but enough to clean the screen of dead
flies etc. Our target was the main aire in San Sebastion but it being Easter
weekend we were not hopeful and had a couple of alternatives in mind. But as
luck would have it, though very busy there were a couple of spaces left so we
squeezed in and settled down for our last night in Spain. With a drive today of
215 miles, it is the furthest we've travelled in a day since we were just south
of here on our way down in January.
Friday 3 April 2015
Putting the clocks forward twice in a short period has put
our body clocks right out and we were very late to bed and subsequently late
getting up. However the local Guardia Civil obliged us by landing their
helicopter right next to us to pick up a couple of the local cops, who they
brought back an hour later.
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| The aire at Ampudia |
A slightly hazy day today though still hot so we did a bit
of cleaning after servicing the van then just lazed about. It’s Good Friday and
obviously everywhere is closed. The other vans had left early so apart from a
couple that stopped to see the castle we were on our own until a Brit van
turned up who looked familiar. A little later we got chatting and found that
they were Funsters – Skipper64 – and we’d met them somewhere in Morocco last
year.
The chat turned into a beer-o-clock as the sun slowly went
down until a late teatime. Very pleasant and it’s one of the things about
motor-homing that these things happen quite spontaneously. Later we heard the
drums as Ampudia had its own Good Friday procession round the town, though we
didn’t actually see it, as well as a band and choir obviously near the church.
We've had no internet today although last night the
Portuguese sim worked for a while but then probably ran out of credit. Not
going to buy any more in Spain so it may take a day or two to update the blog.
Thursday 2 April 2015
It wasn't half quiet – not a sound all night until the birds
started walking on the roof pecking off all the squashed insects!
We’re leaving Portugal today and after having checked the
maps decided we’d route via Valladolid as we’d have a few choices of stopping
places going that way without having to wander far off route. So initially
staying off the motorway we headed into Braganca to stock up – it’s Easter
weekend and we’re expecting most places to be shut. However no luck so we found
ourselves for the first, and last, time on an A road, though it wasn't actually
toll, which took us across the border into Spain.
From the wooded hills of Portugal we rapidly climbed up onto
the Spanish plateau and found miles and miles of wide open space, quite
intensively farmed. It was nice to be using good fast roads again and we
enjoyed the run, eventually joining a motorway; there being no really suitable
alternative we stuck with it (no toll – cheapskates!). At the town of Zamora we
pulled off to find a supermarket and after a circuit of the centre came back to
a Dia, which is similar to Aldi – and just as well we didn’t leave it any later
as everything was closing at 3.00pm and of course we’d
forgotten to put our clocks forward an hour…….
Lunch just outside the car park (we didn’t want to get
locked in) we realised that Valladolid and our alternative Palencia, were both
city centre aires and both cities had big celebrations today and tomorrow
(thankyou Rough Guide!). Luckily there was a small town in between the two,
albeit a bit off track, that looked interesting so we reprogrammed TomTom and
headed to Ampudia. Leaving the motorway for again good cross country roads we
noted many castles and fortified buildings. The sign Ruta di Castello should
have perhaps given us a clue!
Ampudia is a lovely little village (with castle!) and the small aire had room aplenty for us. As we've got a time in hand before we need to get to France we've decided to let Spain get Holy Week out of its system and stay here a day or two. (It helps that the Portuguese internet works here too!)
Wednesday 1 April 2015
Wednesday 1 April 2015
The dog eventually shut up and the noise from the nearby
motorway, which we hadn't noticed until we went to bed, quietened down so a
peaceful night and another lovely morning. Usual preliminaries then a phone
call to Eurotunnel to get our homeward crossing put back a couple of days. Just
as well we did because our preferred day was completely sold out and our next
choice cost us an extra £21.
Setting an aire at Braganca as our destination, we once
again programmed the satnav to avoid toll roads and it selected for us a lovely
run through mixed countryside and into the hills – this is truly a fine part of
Portugal although we've read that it has very cold winters, so perhaps not in
January!
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| The road winds through valleys |
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| And if you're brakes fail help is at hand! |
Guarda was a bit of a trial, it seemed that the only way out was on a
toll road but we eventually trusted to TomTom and wound our way round some very
minor roads before popping back out on the IP2, a fast non toll road heading
north.
With the fuel gauge indicating that we really ought to
get a refill we followed signs off the main road into a town to an Intermarche
where they only took cash – but it was very cheap! A little later we turned off
again and found a lay-by for a late lunch.
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| The Douro river |
Realising by now that Braganca was again a bit of a stretch
we consulted the books and found a barragem that allowed overnight parking at
just about the right distance so reprogrammed the satnav. All we’ll say is that
it was “interesting”, taking us round and through a fairly modern town, along
the side of a motorway and then off into the hills. But eventually we came upon
the reservoir at Azibo with a couple of car parks overlooking it and all but deserted. It
felt quite safe so we settled in for the evening and enjoyed the view.
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| Out of the windscreen at sunset |
Tuesday 31 March 2015
Tuesday 31 March 2015
Another scorcher, which makes getting going not quite so
easy! However get and go we must so after the usual full service we headed off
to a local hypermarket, Continente this time, to resupply. Had a little
difficulty finding our way out, the saida (exit) signs had us going round and
round the car park, but we foiled them in the end!
We missed the aqueduct yesterday so, as it was on our route,
we stopped off for a quick look and a photo; funny it seemed more dramatic when
we came through 2 years ago. Then northwards, carefully avoiding the motorway;
the signposts keep trying to make you use them and the alternatives are not
usually very clear, but again we foiled them.
The roads were generally good and very quiet so we bowled
along quite happily in the hot sunshine with the air-conditioning going. Our
route firstly took us across quite a flat area with several hill top walled towns, before meeting the hills of Evoramonte
and from there on it was quite scenic. Forestry seems to be quite important,
noting the several timber lorries we encountered (why is it always on a bend?).
The occasional reservoir also provided more interest although regretfully we
were past before we could grab the camera. Everybody thinks of the Algarve when
talking about Portugal but there is some beautiful countryside away from the
coast, and in our case we were never more than a few miles from the Spanish
border as we headed north.
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| Evoramonte |
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| Estremoz? |
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| Portalegre? |
Lunch was taken at a picnic area off the main IP2 where we
realised that our projected target night stop was going to be a bit of a
stretch. However a check of the campsite books showed a free municipal site at Castelo
Branco which was just right so TomTom was given his instructions again,
although he did seem to have a tendency to use the motorways. Brens map-reading
soon sorted that.
It was only as we were skirting the town that Bren noticed
the site was apparently not yet open for the season, but being within a few
minutes we carried on to find the book was wrong and it was open February to
November. It was wrong about being free as well, but €6.35 is very good when we
have full facilities, though we eschewed electricity this time, the batteries
being well charged enough for one night.
With only a few units on site we had our choice of pitch and
settled down amongst the trees with a welcome drink and snooze until it got
cooler – we've seen 35 deg again today. It’s hard to remember that it’s cold
wet and windy at home – just got a message asking us to bring some sunshine
with us! (Wilco!)
But if that b----y dog doesn't shut up, murder is going to
be done later…………..
Monday 30 March 2015
Monday 30 March 2015
Having missed seeing Evora 2 years ago, due to poor weather,
we’d promised ourselves a visit this trip so after a latish start we wandered
down to the bus stop, to find the next was over half an hour. It’s really not
all that far, about 2 km so we started walking and no bus passed us in the
25mins it took to reach the impressive town walls. Another 10 mins saw us in
Praco di Giraldo, the main square where we picked up a map from T.I. then had a
coffee/orange juice whilst pondering where we go first.
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| Praca di Giraldo |
Evora is very compact and is arranged in circles round the
cathedral – it would only take 15 mins to cross it completely. Most of the
attractions could be seen by following an extended circle in the order they
were listed (no doubt that was the idea) so that’s what we did. With Roman as
well as Moorish origins, it was a very pleasant place to stroll round in the
bright sunshine and of course all the buildings were painted white with the
yellow/ochre trim you see everywhere in Portugal.
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| It's broken, or was it designed like that? |
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| Lunch at Mr Pickwick |
We had a late lunch in a small restaurant just off the
square before visiting the ossuary, a chapel built entirely of human bones that
were excavated from a cemetery to create more room for building (not recently
you should understand!) Presently undergoing full renovation, as was the church
it was attached to, it was interesting if a little macabre!
From there a walk through the public gardens brought us back
to the road to the campsite. Still no evidence of buses, we strolled, much more
slowly this time, back to the van and welcome refreshment and relaxation. We
very much enjoyed our visit, and if you go any day except Monday you’ll find
everything open………..
One of the attractions we only glimpsed today was a complete
Roman aqueduct, something we spotted on our way through 2 years ago. We’ll make
a point of stopping off on our way out tomorrow; it’s on our way and mostly
outside the town walls.
Sunday 29 March 2015
The local church clock rings out the hour, every hour – twice. No idea why but it actually didn’t keep us awake. Just as well as the clocks went forward one hour!
Another gorgeous morning and after customary bacon and eggs we made the short climb into the, what turned out to be, small village. Very picturesque, including a small hidden bull-ring, it didn’t take us long to explore.
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| Narrow streets |
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| That church with the two-timing clock |
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| Town square - with ancient stocks in middle |
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| Bull Ring |
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| The aire at Monsaraz - super location |
A nice pitch, a quick lunch and Terry set up while Bren got
started on the laundry. Being a lovely warm day with a gentle breeze, the dryer
was almost superfluous but we got the whole lot done, dried and put away by
teatime! And we both got quite a bit of sun lounger time too. Which leaves
tomorrow free so we’re planning on taking the bus into, we’re told, a nice
place to explore.
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| Yet another sunset! |
Saturday 28 March 2015
Right, let’s get on with it! Service and goodbyes (again!)
then a quick fuel stop before another quick call into Lidl for bread and milk
(and a bathmat, bottle of Malibu, you know, the everyday essentials!). Then we
got lost coming out of Portimao, not having programmed in our destination.
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| Sometimes, we don't get it quite right! |
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| And sometimes we do |
Well actually, we had only a vague idea of where we were
going, Evora being a city we had passed through two years ago and promised ourselves
to revisit. On the map we spotted the Alqueva reservoir, the largest in surface
area in Europe, and its barragem (dam).
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| On a clear day you can see forever. At the Alqueva Barragem |
These barragems quite often have large
parking areas and motorhome parking is tolerated and popular. However in this
case it was not so, but our Aires book “recommended” a place just a little
north promising the best views in Portugal (heard that one before!) so
programmed it into TomTom and enjoyed a scenic route through the various
waterways formed when the dam was flooded.
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| Monsaraz |
Monsaraz is a citadel town, that is, it’s built within fortified
walls on top of the only, quite high, hill around and one of the car parks is
dedicated to motorhomes. On a terrace just under the walls, it was indeed a
superb location and we got the last space, overlooking the huge expanse of the
Alqueva reservoir in the late evening sunshine.
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| View from the van |
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| The other way |
The kind of place you can only get to see with a motorhome.
Friday 27 March 2015
El Scorchio – get the chairs out and enjoy it. Actually we
did a little too much so that after lunch it was cover up time. Terry had a
walk to the beach, Praia de Rocha, which was lovely; miles of golden sand with
safe bathing, water-sports and little café/restaurants. It’s obviously a
favourite with the locals as the car park was almost full.
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| Praia Rocha at Portimao |
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| The other way |
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| Acres of sand |
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| Plenty of water sports |
Later, another of our Morocco friends, who had arrived this
morning, called in for a chin-wag before a quiet tea then contemplation of our
next move. We MUST move on tomorrow.
Thursday 26 March 2015
Nice as it is here in Portimao, we must start heading north
or we’ll be rushing, so after servicing the van we said our goodbyes and headed
out. First stop was to refill the gas bottles and we were surprised to find
they were almost empty – we seem to have used a lot more than were expecting so
keep an eye on that. Then the usual tramp round Lidl to restock the fridge and
cupboards before crossing to the commercial centre (shopping mall to you) to
find a Vodafone shop to top up the internet.
So with plenty of fuel, we headed west, our target being the
“Lands End” of Portugal at Sagres. Looked in at the “new” aire at Alvor to find
it was almost empty, surprising, as was that at Lagos, a little further along
the coast. We surmised that the hordes of French, who were in the Algarve
rather than going to Morocco, were now on their way home for Easter.
And so on to Sagres. There’s really not a lot there and it
was really rather quiet, although the motorhome parking was full. Found a spot
to park up for an hour to take photos and have lunch, but it was very windy so
we pushed on.
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| Sagres |
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| and the other way |
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| Lands End a la Portugal |
Deciding to go up the middle, rather than the coast, we
spotted an aire that promised superb views over the Algarve. “Try to visit when
clear skies are forecast” said the book, it being an observatory on top of a
mountain. So we programmed TomTom and set off – and the sky gradually clouded over
as we approached the mountain. Quite a steep climb, with glimpses of
potentially superb views – until suddenly we were enveloped in thick mist.
Thankfully the satnav coordinates were spot on, because we couldn't see more
than a few yards and would have easily missed the parking.
A cup of tea and a rethink. It was now late afternoon and
finding somewhere else to stop was becoming a problem. But a quick check showed
that Portimao was in fact only 40 mins away – we’d come in a big loop – so decision
made! Welcomed back by our friends, we adjourned to the café for tea, not being
interested in cooking now.
What the heck, we’ll stay a couple more nights as the
weather forecast is definitely scorchio!
Tuesday/Wednesday 24/25 March 2015
Portimao. A little rain overnight but dry on Tuesday
morning, though the breeze is still a bit cool – the weather forecast says it’s
going to get warmer over the next few days and then into next week. So we’ll
expect more rain then!
Apart from lounging around and chatting to friends, not a
lot done on Tuesday. However, as promised, Wednesday dawned bright and clear so
we turned the van round to get better sun and shelter from the breeze, and Bren
did some smalls washing, which dried in an hour, great! Also had a bit of a
sort out in the lockers and discovered some books we hadn't yet read and a
handful of DVD’s we’d been looking for.
After lunch, an impromptu beer-o-clock started at Champers van
and we were subsequently joined by a Brit from the caravan next door. Enjoyable
until then – the bigoted, loud-mouthed twat who couldn't hold his drink put an
end to that, although it was getting close to tea-time. Prat.
Never mind, after tea we adjourned to the site café/bar –
and didn’t tell him!
Tuesday 24 March 2015
Monday 23 March 2015
Most of the French moved out early today and there was just
us and one other when we had breakfast. We later learned that many of them had
started to return home for Easter – goody, more room for us! With no facilities
to service the van, we were quickly on our way via, you've guessed, Aldi this
time. Needing to empty the waste tanks we checked out a couple of aires but
they all wanted a night’s stay, which we didn’t so carried on.
A couple of years ago we stayed on a large aire at Portimao (see 2013 Blog ->),
a large town with its own port and marina. We’d heard that it had been taken
over and improved so thought that perhaps one night there would be okay. TomTom
took us straight there to find a much tidier place – it’s actually quite large
with room for well over 100 units – and still only €2.50, good value although
water was an extra €2/100 litres from a machine. But they've got free Wi-Fi.
After doing the necessary we found a nice pitch, close to
another Brit “Bertie” and had a nice chat before lunch. Afterward, thinking we’d
turn the van round to get a bit more level, we spotted a familiar face and
there, refilling their water, were old friends Katherine & Malcolm from
last year in Morocco. It also turned out
that Kath & John (Champers) were here too so we followed them back to their
parking spot and found another close by for a lovely reunion.
It turned out it was Malcolm & Katherine’s wedding
anniversary and we were invited to join them for a meal out, which we were
delighted to accept. So later, we joined them all for pre-pre-dinner drinks,
then walked a way to a favourite café/bar for pre-dinner drinks and then onto
the highlight of the evening. A supermarket café!
Now don’t laugh; this turned out to be a real treat. The
food was cooked right in front of us, it was excellent quality, plenty of it
and CHEAP. You can’t beat €11 for the two of us, including drinks, even if we
were sitting at a cafeteria table! Then after much merriment, we took a slow
walk back to the van, Bren having rushed about a bit too much and suffering
slightly.
But what a super day it turned out to be, and quite by accident too!
Saturday/Sunday 21/22 March 2015
Despite a forecast of rain for most of the day, Saturday was
clear and very warm when we got up, the solar panel already having fully
charged the batteries, so opened everything up and got the chairs out. However
there was a cool breeze running in off the sea and it wasn't too long before it
started to cloud over and by lunchtime it was raining quite heavily. What is it
about the Algarve and us?
It did dry up later though it never became warm enough again
to sit out.
Sunday was our normal late start with bacon and eggs looking
out at patchy sunshine which, however, was enough to charge the batteries
again. All the other half dozen or so vans here are French which, as we've seen
quite a few other nationalities, puzzled us a bit until we noticed that this parking
spot was only in the French Guide to Portugal. Still, we had parked in such a
way that they couldn't encroach on us as is their usual habit. They do seem
unhappy if there is more than 2 feet between their vans…………….
We later had a little walk round, noticing that the place
seemed quite popular with Portuguese although the beach-side fish restaurant
probably had something to do with it. Going back up the hill confirmed there
was nothing but holiday lets and one 4-star hotel that was just about open but
not at all busy. The season apparently doesn't start until Easter by which time
we’ll probably be in southern France.
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| Small beach with arches just off-shore |
Move on tomorrow (the loo is getting slightly iffy – but you
didn’t need to know that did you?)
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